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Jeffei^soii County and 
Sipmiixgliaixt^ Alabama 



PUDLISHED BY TUG 



Farm Movement Department 



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Blriiiiogliani, Alabama Clianiber 
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BIHMINGHAM. ALA. 



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INTRODUCTORY 



This publication issued by the Birmingham, Alabama, Chamber of Commerce deals 
with the agricultural possibilities of a district, the great industrial importance of which has 
been more and more realized within the last few years; and the marvelous industrial growth 
and development of which during the past decade have been the wonder of the world. The 
vast mineral resources of the Birmingham District created in its midst, as if by magic, a 
wonderful city of 140,000 people. But otherwise the development was mainly on industrial 
lines. As a consequence the City of Birmingham and the Birmingham District with its 
50,000 working men must buy most of the foodstuffs they consume from other sections of 
this country and Birmingham sends away three million dollars annually for vegetables alone, 
all of which could be raised on the thousands of acres of lands now lying idle in the vicinity 
of the city and in Jefferson County. 

To remedy such a condition, and at the same time materially aid the development and 
progress of its city and county, the Birmingham Chamber of Commerce — an aggregation of 
1,200 prominent business and industrial men — established a special department, with a com- 
mittee of its own, whose sole aim and purpose is the agricultural development and settle- 
ment of the Birmingham District and Jefferson County. 

This publication represents the first efforts of the committee in the carrying out of 
its plans. It is a message to homeseekers to come to a section where the climate is superb, 
where land is cheap and of great productiveness — a section of vast agricultural and indus- 
trial resources — teeming with opportunities for every man who is industrious and ambitious 
to have a home of his own. This publication furthers no special interest; it is not a real estate 
propaganda for the benefit of any land company. The expenses of its make-up and pro- 
mulgation are paid from a fund subscribed to by patriotic citizens, with no other benefit or 
reward in view than the progress and development of their city and county and every word 
printed within its columns and every picture shown upon its pages is guaranteed by the 
Birmingham Chamber of Commerce to be facts, and nothing but the absolute truth about 
the district. 

No attempts are made to mislead the readers with elaborate descriptions, extravagant 
claims or fine literary style of language. Plain facts of what this section offers are stated 
in plain language, and written by responsible officials and authorities. 

The climate of Birmingham and vicinity is briefly yet very ably discussed by Mr. Wm. 
Lehman, the local official of the U. S. Weather Bureau. 



/ 



The articles upon the agricultural conditions, possibilities, etc., of the Birmingham 
District and Jefferson County are written by Mr. O. L. Ayrs, Agriculturist of the Tennessee 
Coal, Iron and Railroad Company, formerly of the Bureau of Soils, U. S. Department of 
Agriculture; and Mr. G. B. McVay, a high authority on all subjects of agriculture and a 
frequent contributor to the literature of State and U. S. Department of Agriculture. 

Besides these articles, we reprint verbatim a part of the U. S. Soil Survey of Jefferson 
County — published this year — a verification of all we claim for our section by an indisputable 
authority. 

The illustrations shown are from photographs taken on various farms, gardens and 
fields in our section and they are, together with the few letters from local gardeners, which 
we had room to print, bonafide evidences of the productiveness of our soils and the great 
opportunities for every kind of agricultural pursuit in our district and county. 

Yet while the facts related through the following pages show the marvelous resources 
and unsurpassed possibilities of the Birmingham District and Jefferson County, the reader 
must bear in mind that it requires industry, intelligence and perseverance to develop these 
resources and possibilities. 

Here, as elsewhere, success means intelligent activity and thrift. When these are ap- 
plied, however, the homeseeker from the North, West, or East will find a section here where 
his tasks are easier to perform, where the man of limited means can do more on a small scale 
with less cost and expense and where his industry will bring him quicker and larger returns 
than in any other section of this country. 

In conclusion, we want to say to all who are looking for better opportunities, than what 
they have at present — who want to live in a healthful climate where they can follow their 
various pursuits twelve months in the year — that we extend to every newcomer not only 
our welcome, but that we will assist them in every possible way to be advantageously located 
in our district and to make the right beginning. 

Birmingham, Alabama, January, 1911. 

The Committee of the Farm Movement Department of the Chamber of Commerce. 

A. H. FORD, President, Chamber of Com. 

JOHN H. ADAMS, Chairman. 

G. B. McCORMACK. 

SID W. LEE. 

JAMES BONNYMAN. 

S.IIECHINGER, Secretary. 



Jefferson County, Birmingham and the Birmingham District, 
What They Offer to the Home-Seeker. 

BV S. HECHINGER. SECRETAR"!' FARM MOVEMENT DEPARTMENT, CHAMBER OF COMMERCE 



When the homeseeker and man of 
family who is striving to better his 
condition seeks a new location, he 
will as a matter of course give pref- 
erence to a section which has a thriv- 
ing and progressive city in its midst. 

A city in almost every instance is 
a sure indication of the district in 
which it is located. A growing, 
prosperous city is always identical 
with a section of great natural re- 
sources, and nowhere in this country 
is this truth more clearly demonstra- 
ted than it is in the case of Birming- 
ham and the Birmingham District. 
In fact, so closely identical are these 
two, that it is impossible to describe 
the one without speaking of the other. 

The history of the city of Birming- 
ham, its magical growth from a vil- 
lage to a great industrial city of 
140,000 people, is the history of the 
development of the marvelous re- 
sources of its district, a district where- 



in, and tributary to it, are coalfields 
estimated by geologists as bearing 
68,000 million tons, and known 
iron ore deposits, which will supply 
all the furnaces now in blast in the 
district for a period of 360 years. 
As the district is now producing two 
million tons of pig iron and 700,000 
tons of steel annually one may get 
an idea of the magnitude of the 
mineral resources of the Birmingham 
District and the great future in 
store for it, the more so when it is 
considered, that the total known ore- 
supply of other regions in the United 
States is estimated to be exhausted 
within the next fifty years. 

Yet these great deposits of iron 
ore and coal do not represent the 
entire mineral resources of the dis- 
trict. Within its borders, associ- 
ated with the ore deposits and coal 
measures and in separate layers are 
found immense quantities of lime- 



stones, sandstones, clays, dolomite 
and marble. The limestone, besides 
its other uses furnishes the important 
material for fluxes in the iron fur- 
naces and the others yielding the 
material for the manufacture of 
building stones, bricks, lime, cement 
and pottery. 

The term "Birmingham District," as 
herein used applies to the immediate 
industrial district, in Jefferson Coun- 
ty of which Birmingham is the center, 
not only by location, but industrially 
and commercially as well. 

For while many of the iron fur- 
naces, steel mills, rolling mills and 
other industrial plants and of course 
all the coal and ore mines of the dis- 
trict are outside the city limits, the 
great corporations operating these 
mines and plants have their head- 
quarters in the city; and the 50,000 
men employed in the district spend 
most of their wages, amounting to 




THREE OF THE BUSINESS STMJETS OF BIRMINGHAM 



Am 



$4,000,000 monthly, in the shops and 
business houses of Birmingham. 

Birmingham Proper 

Birmingham, the city proper, has 
rapidly expanded during the last 
few years, until now it covers an 
area of 48 square miles. At the same 
time it has fully responded to the 
demands of its environments and 
moulded itself into a metropolis able 
to fill any requirements which its 
growing industries and commercial 
importance may exact besides offer- 
ing all the advantages which are ex- 
pected of a modern 
progressive city. 

It is a city of 
beautiful streets. 
There are a number 
of residential sections 
which for originality 
and beauty of archi- 
tecture vie with the 
best in the land, and 
the principal avenue 
of which has the 
reputation of being 
the most beautiful 
thoroughfare of any 
city in the South. 

Fifty-six miles of 
its streets are paved, 
and large appropria- 
tions have been made 
for further improve- 
ments in that direc- 
tion. The main high- 
ways are straight as 
an arrow and of 
unusual width. 

Birmingham is one 
of the most healthful 
cities of the country. 
Favored by an un- 
surpassed climate, 
and located upon an 
elevation r a n'g i n g 
from 700 to 1,000 
feet it has added to 
these natural advan- 
tages, one of the 
finest drainage and 
sewerage systems in 
the country covering 
practically the entire 
county; and an in- 
exhaustible water 
supply adequate for a city of 
1,000,000 population, the water being 
filtered and unsurpassed as to purity 
by that of any other city. 

Birmingham is a city of home 
owners. As an evidence of its growth 
it can be cited that more than 20,000 
homes have been built within the 
city Hmits since the census of 1900. 
While many of these residences can 
be called pretentious, a vast number 
of them have been erected as com- 
fortable modern homes for those of 
moderate means. 

5«i 



The business section of the city 
has also been shaping itself to keep 
pace with the commercial and in- 
dustrial growth, and the improve- 
ments in this respect are truly most 
wonderful. In the past six years 
seven steel construction office build- 
ings, from ten to sixteen stories in 
height, have been erected, one of 
which is the largest building of its 
kind in the South. 

Besides these, a large and handsome 
terminal station has recently been 
completed at a cost of $2,000,000 to 




RESIDENCE STREETS, BIRMINGHAM 

accommodate the ever-increasing pas- 
senger traffic of the nine trunk rail- 
roads entering the city, a list of 
which will be found in another article 
in this publication. 

While coal, iron and steel represent 
a major portion of the industrial 
interests in the city and district, they 
by no means monopolize the indus- 
tries. *,To begin with, Birmingham 
leads in the manufacture of cast iron 
pipe and heavy machinery. Within 
the city limits there are large iron 
pipe works, machine shops and foun- 



dries, cement plants, a cotton mill, 
fertilizer plants and a great number 
of diversified industries. 

The latter include such factories 
as automobile, cracker and candy, 
coffin, carriage and buggy, furniture, 
harness, mattresses, sash door and 
blinds, sewer pipe, gins, soil pipe, 
brick, etc. 

To finance its extensive industrial 
and commercial enterprises and to 
supply the means for the conversion 
of the natural wealth of the district 
into marketable products, Birming- 
ham has nineteen 
banks with a total 
capital and surplus of 
$3,130,000 and de- 
posits amounting to 
$20,000,000. 

While the commer- 
cial interests of the 
city and district are 
not as great as the 
industrial, they are 
quite extensive and 
constantly growing. 
Its wholesale and job- 
bing trade amounts 
to $60,000,000 per 
annum. 

Birmingham is also 
the center of the 
lumber trade in Ala- 
bama. It is the sec- 
ond largest market 
in the country for 
yellow pine. While 
the growing of cotton 
is not carried on 
upon an extensive 
scale in Jefferson 
County, yet 125,000 
bales of that staple 
commodity are han- 
dled annually in the 
Birmingham market. 
It is self evident 
that a city with such 
large industrial and 
commercial interests 
is not lacking in great 
stores. The retail 
trade of Birmingham 
excels in volume of 
business and in the 
number of handsome 
stores that of any southern city; 
among the latter being the largest 
department store south of the Ohio 
River. 

A city's growth and development 
would be incomplete and lacking in 
essential points, were it only of a ma- 
terial character. Birmingham rush- 
ing forward with tremendous strides 
to the front ranks of American cities, 
has not neglected the spiritual and 
intellectual welfare of its fast growing 
population. Over 100 churches of 
all denominations, 66 public schools, 




OFFICE BUILDINGS IN BIRMINGHAM 



five of them high schools, eight private 
schools and nine colleges including 
medical, dental, and business col- 
leges and four public libraries are an 
eloquent and living proof to the 
city's progressive spirit of education 
and uplift. 

Nor has Birmingham in its 
triumphal march to industrial 
and commercial greatness for- 
gotten the care of her sick and 
helpless. It has two large public 
hospitals, a number of private 
sanitariums, two orphan asy- 
lums, and various other charita- 
ble institutions to care for the 
ag,ed and infirm. 

The population of Birmingham 
and its district is cosmopolitan, 
including a great number of 
Europeans and people from 
almost every state in the Union. 
It naturally follows that Birm- 
ingham is a cosmopolitan city 
in all its aspects, chiefly 
amongst which are its places 
of amusements and its social 
life. 

Five big theaters and a num- 
ber of smaller show places cater 
to the play and music-loving 
public. Eight parks, one of 
them a large amuse- 
ment park, provide 
recreation, entertain- 
ment and healthy 
exercise to young and 
old. 

The social side of 
the community is well 
represented by a score 
of clubs, four of 
which have handsome 
homes, and by many 
social and fraternal 
associations; amongst 
them are several Ger- 
man and Italian 
societies. 

This birdseye view 
of Alabama's metrop- 
olis — a metropolis in 
the broadest sense — 
would not be com- 
plete without men- 
tioning its splendid 
civic institutions for 
the protection of its 
citizens, its excellent 
newspapers and its 
great public utility 
system of street-rail- 
ways, light and power 
facilities, with its 133 
miles of track, reaching in every 
direction and knitting city and dis- 
trict within a radius of fifteen miles 
so closely together, as to make 
them almost one. The potency of 
this factor in the development of 
this city and district will be better 

BilM 



realized when it is cited that 
within the territory and along the 
lines traversed by the Street Railway, 
comprising about 100 square miles, 
there are located eighty large plants, 
exclusive of those which are located 
in the central part of the city, and 




CITY HALL BUILDING, BIRMINGHAM 



merce 




HILLMAN AND ST. VINCENT HOSPITALS, BIRMINGHAM 

fifty-one coal and ore mines, all 
together employing 40,000 men. 
Among the plants are the immense 
steel mill with a capacity of 2,000 
tons per day of the Tennessee Coal, 
Iron & Railroad Company at Ensley; 
the Dimmick Pipe Works with a 



daily capacity of 250 tons at North 
Birmingham; the Birmingham Ma- 
chine & Foundry Company, manu- 
facturers of heavy machinery; the 
Hardie-Tynes Manufacturing Com- 
pany and many of the iron furnaces 
and rolling mills of the Tennessee 
Coal, Iron and Railroad Com- 
pany, the Sloss-Sheffield Co. 
and the Republic Iron and 
Steel Company. 

Agricultural Opportuni- 
ties of the District 
and County 

As pointed out elsewhere in 
this publication, the growth 
and development of the Birm- 
ingham District and Jefferson 
County have been entirely on 
industrial lines. In this respect 
the history of this section 
during the last twenty-five 
years does not differ materially 
from that of the whole South. 
The pioneers who during the 
last quarter of a century built 
up an empire in the North 
and West, were the tillers of 
the soil; the builders of the new 
South were the men of com- 
and industry. Of the 
great stream of home- 
seekers from the 
East and Europe, the 
South received but a 
small share and there- 
fore was far outstrip- 
ped in agricultural 
development by sec- 
tions which can not 
compare with the 
South's marvelous 
resources — her mil- 
lions of acres of fertile 
lands, her unlimited 
water power, her un- 
surpassed climate and 
her mineral wealth. 

Many causes can 
be assigned for this 
lack of agricultural 
development in the 
South, which so 
strongly contrasts 
with the wonderful 
and rapid growth of 
her industrial and 
commercial interests. 
One cause however, 
stands out pre- 
eminently: the South 
has never made any 
strong efforts to in- 
crease her agricultural population. 
She has been too busy building cities 
and railroads and factories and ex- 
panding her commercial interests, to 
come to a realization of her matchless 
agricultural opportunities, and she 
contented herself to spend 75 per cent 



of the money produced by cotton, 
her great staple, abroad for 
foodstuffs, all of which and 
more could be raised within her 
own kingly realm. Recently, 
however, the awakening came, 
as it was bound to come, has- 
tened perhaps by the present 
high cost of living and the 
ever-increasing scarcity of effi- 
cient white labor in the southern 
field — a condition which is per- 
haps more acutely felt in 
industrial centers like the 
Birmingham District than in 
other portions of the South, 
and which can only be gradually 
remedied by a substantial influx 
of settlers. 

Of all the sections in the 
South today inviting the home- 
seeker and settler, there is none 
which possess such a rare com- 
bination of favorable conditions 
towards every kind of agri- 
cultural pursuit, than Jefferson 
County, Alabama. Fertile lands 
and mild climate are found in 
every section of the South, but 
none has the prerequisite to 
agricultural development in such a 
high degree as Jefferson County — a 
large and ever-increasing home market 
for all products of the farm and garden. 




A GROUP OF SCHOOL BUILDINGS, BIRMINGHAM 

High School at Bottom 



Wages Paid in the District 

Birmingham and its district con- 
sumes more than five million dollars 
worth of foodstuffs annually, not 




A GROUP OF CHURCHES IN BIRMINGHAM 



including meats, most of which are 
shipped in from other sections of 
this country. Thousands of carloads 
of hay and grain are also brought in 
each year from the western states. 
This enormous amount of consump- 
tion of farm products is due largely 
to the great number of laboring men — 
skilled and common labor — employed 
in the Birmingham District, all of 
whom receive the highest scale of 
wages paid anywhere in this country 
and who are consequently able to 
buy, and do buy, plenty of good 
food. As an example of the scale of 
wages prevalent in the district, it 
will not be amiss to mention here, 
that coal miners are paid 52 1-2 cents 
per ton for pick mining and 31 cents 
for machine mining, based upon a 
four foot seam; furnace men receive 
from $2.50 to $7.00 per day; ma- 
chinists from 20 to 37 cents per 
hour, and helpers in furnaces, pipe 
works, miners, etc., from $1.50 to 
$2.00 per day. And large as the 
number of men now employed in the 
district is, a great many more are 
needed. Various new industries are 
constructing extensive plants, which, 
when finished, will employ an ad- 
ditional 5,000 men. A model in- 
dustrial town, adjoining the city 
limits of Birmingham is being built 
at a cost of $1,500,000, and the Ten- 
nessee Coal, Iron and Railroad Com- 
pany, the largest industrial factor in 
the district, recently appropriated 
$7,000,000 to be expended immedi- 
ately in the construction of new 
plants and the general development 
of its immense properties in the 

Nine 



district. 

The great industries of the Birming- 
ham District with its thousands of 
laboring men not only constitute the 
major part of the large home market 
for foodstuffs, but they greatly add 
in other ways to the value of the 
agricultural opportunities of the 
county. As a matter of fact, the 
industries and the thousands of acres 
of fertile lands around and near Bir- 
mingham, supplement each other and 
create a field for the homeseeker, the 
equal of which no other section in 
the South can offer. . The home- 
seeker coming here for the purpose 
of cultivating lands, or the man of 
family coming here with the view of 
working in our industries can, if he 
chooses, together with his family, do 
both — cultivate land and work in 
our industries. This is made possi- 
ble by the close proximity of the lands 
to the industrial plants and mines 
in the District. 

Lands for Rent 

Near the city and stretching over 
ten miles in every direction 200,000 
acres of land are waiting to be con- 
verted into farms, gardens, orchards 
and pastures. A great deal of this 
land is cleared and will give the set- 
tler very little trouble to put in shape 
for cultivation. Its topography, its 
wide range of soil, its fertility are 
all fully discussed in other articles 
of this publication and need not there- 
fore be dwelled upon here. 

The bulk of this land is owned by 
the great coal and iron companies of 
the district. Some of the companies, 
realizing the great importance of a 



movement to bring a good class of 
settlers to this section, offer to rent 
their land for $1.00 an acre per 
annum, give a five years lease and 
build a home for each family free of 
cost. 

The value of this offer will be better 
understood and appreciated, when it 
is considered that the land under 
discussion being near and within easy 
reach of a large city with an almost 
unlimited market for its product 
would in any middle or western state 
be worth from $150 to $300 an acre. 

The man with limited means -who 
possesses but a few hundred dollars 
to start with — will not find such an 
exceptional opportunity in any other 
section of the South and, it is per- 
haps not too much to claim, not in 
any part of this country; in fact, the 
farme or gardener who comes here 
and leases from ten to forty acres 
of land and who does not make enough 
money in five years to buy a good 
farm is not the man we want to set- 
tle here. 

Lands for Sale 

Jefferson County, as stated else- 
where, contains 719,360 acres. Ac- 
cording to the United States soil 
survey of the county only 24,640 
acres of them are not adaptable to 
cultivation. They are designated as 
24,320 acres of rough stony land and 
320 acres rock outcrop. Of the re- 
maining 694,720 acres the United 
States soil survey speaks in the high- 
est terms of being adaptable to the 
profitable growing of every variety 
of garden truck and domestic fruits — 
such as strawberries, peaches, apples, 



plums and grapes — grain and all the 
standard forage crops. Of this great 
area of productive land only about 
150,000 acres are improved, the main 
crop being cotton and corn and not 
all of them are at present under 
cultivation, due to the fact that many 
of the native farmers, owning lands, 
but lacking the essential qualities of 
a good farmer or gardener, have left 
their farms and have gone to the 
city. For this reason quite a number 
of improved farms are for sale at low 
prices. The country is traversed by 
over 1,100 miles of wagon roads, 220 
miles of which are macadamized. Be- 
sides these public roads the county is 
practically covered, as will be seen 
by the map on the back of this pub- 
lication by a net work of railroads, so 
that almost every region of the 
county is easily accessible to local 
markets and shipping points. 

Notwithstanding all these favorable 
conditions for agricultural pursuits — 
advantageous location, great fertility 
of soil, splendid market facilities and 
high prices for farm products — lands 
in the county can be bought for $5.00 
to $50.00 an acre. 

The price of these lands bears no 
just proportion to their real intrinsic 
value, as a comparison of them with 
the price of lands and their crop 
value in the North and West will 
easily prove. For instance, in Il- 
linois the average land value is 
$38.65 per acre, the average crop 
value being $7.81. In Indiana the 
average land value per acre is $45.66, 
the average crop value $8.23. In 
Iowa the average land value per acre 
is $23.52, the average crop value 




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NEW TWO MILLION DOLLAR TERMINAL STATION, BIRMINGHAM 



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SCENE AT EAST LAKE, BIRMINGHAM'S BIGGEST 
AMUSEMENT PARK 



$6.75. According to these statistics, 
it is a fair estimate to say that 
for instance in IlHnois it would 
take the proceeds of five to eight 
years to pay for a farm of twenty 
acres, while here, according to the 
United States Soil Survey of Jefferson 
County, Alabama, it is not unusual 
for a farmer to buy land and sell 
enough truck to pay for it in from one 
to three years. 

Dairying and Hog Raising 

In summing up the unsurpassed 
agricultural opportunities offered to 
the homeseeker in the Birmingham 
District and Jefferson County, a few 
things in regard to two important 
branches of agriculture, the raising 
of hogs and the dairying industry 
might be of some interest to home- 
seekers. 

In Jefferson County and, for that 
matter, in the entire South a greater 
variety of forage plants can be pro- 
duced, than in the North; two and 
often three crops per year can be 
raised. Early fall planting of rye, 
oats, hairy vetch or bur clover will 
provide excellent winter pasture, and 
give a decided advantage for the 
feeding of cows over the North, where 
cows in the winter, instead of pastur- 
ing in the open air, have to be housed 
in warm buildings and fed upon 
ground feed and dry hay. 

Milk sells in Birmingham at 25 
cents a gallon wholesale or ten cents 
a quart retail the year around. What 
a dairy man can do here is very aptly 
_ answered by Prof. Alford, Chief of 
the Dairy Division, U. S. Department 
of Agriculture, in an article upon 
Dairying in the Southern States. 
Prof. Alford, of course, does not refer 
to any one section, but what he says 
exactly describes conditions and what 



a dairyman 
can do in the 
Birmingham 
District. 

He says, 
among other 
things: "The 
branch o f 
dairying 
which offers 
the most im- 
mediate and 
surest profit, 
in the South- 
ern States, is 
undoubtedly 
that of pro- 
ducing milk 
for the sup- 
ply of^nearby 
cities and 
towns. Al- 
though al- 
most every 
locality has some sort of milk supply 
already, the business is, as a rule, very 
unsystematically and insufficiently 
done. There are in the South hundreds 
of places, if not thousands, where the 
supply is unsatisfactory in quality 
and uncertain and irregular in quan- 
tity. The whole .service is susceptible 
of very great improvements, and it 
is morally certain that a rich re- 
ward awaits the man or men who will 
intelligently and energetically occupy 
this field and really satisfy the wants 
of the community. 

"The greatest profit will accrue to 
those who go at once to the top and 
aim to secure the cream of the trade 
by adopting the most approved 
methods, and offering consumers, at 
fair prices, better milk than they have 
previou sly 
been able to 
procure, uni- 
form in its 
high quality, 
safe because 
pure, deliv- 
ered in at- 
tractive form 
and in con- 
dition to in- 
sure good 
keeping prop- 
erties. The 
large cities 
and towns 
offer the 
promise o f 
healthy 
growth and 
the steady in- 
crease of a 
population 
ob'.iged tobuy 
its food sup- 
ply and with 
money to pay 
for it. A 



man who will locate within easy 
reach of such a town and make mar- 
ket milk, prepare it and sell it, ac- 
cording to the best modern methods, 
is about as sure of success as in any 
line of agricultural effort anywhere 
in this country. 

"There are, besides, many places, 
both large and small, where by moder- 
ate effort and without any radical 
change of system, the local milk 
supply can be vastly improved and 
consumption greatly increased, by 
simply making this business a spec- 
ialty, offering good, clean milk, regu- 
larly and well delivered." 

In regard to Hog-raising the opinion 
of an expert may again be quoted, 
which reads as follows :- - 

"Some of the more important rea- 
sons why swine husbandry should 
prove especially attractive to South- 
ern farmers are summed up in the 
following paragraph: First, there is 
a mild climate so that the hogs require 
but httle housing. There are springs 
and running streams of water every- 
where, a splendid natural range and 
an abundance of mast in the large 
forest areas still existing in the 
states. Corn and other cereals so 
commonly and successfully used in 
the production of pork are easily 
and cheaply produced, and a variety 
of forage crops, including the clovers 
and many other legumes, thrive re- 
markably well. Rape, the plant 
which has been successfully used for 
hog production throughout the North- 
ern States, but whose qualities we are 
only beginning to appreciate, takes 
kindly to our soil and climate. Red 
clover finds in our red clays a natural 
heritage. Sorghum, soja beans, hairy 




STREET SCENES AT ENSLEY, A PART OF BIRMINGHAM 

EIntn 



vetch, artichokes, the 
velvet bean, the cow 
pea and Spanish peanuts 
all thrive well singly 
and some of them in 
combinations, produc- 
ing as rich and fine 
mixtures for hog pas- 
tures as can be produced 
anywhere. 

"At the present time 
the South is paying a 
heavy tribute to the 
farmers of the Central 
West for hog products, 
and this in the face 
of the finest natural 
environment for pork 
production, in spite of 
the possession of a splen- 
did home market and 
the ability to produce 
the highest quality of 
pork at a very low 
cost. Surely the out- 
look for the develop- 
ment of swine hus- 
bandry in the South is 
very bright. The popu- 
lation of the United 
States, in round numbers 
is 76,500,000 and rapidly 
increasing. The market 
for pork products at 
home and abroad never 
was better than it is 
today. There is less 
than one hog held on 
the farms for each 
citizen, and especially 
is it true of the South. 
The Southern farmer 
ought to supply his 
home markets with their 
meat; he ought to 
have more hogs to sell, 
and keep at home the 
millions of dollars now 
annually sent North for 
hog products." 

Jefferson County has the climate 
and the springs and running streams 
of water. It has the home market 




A GROUP OF FURNACES IN BIRMINGHAM 



and the forests and the soils which 
will easily produce abundance of 
cereals and forage — it has everything 
but sufficient men to develop the 



bountiful natural resources with 
which it is endowed and to help to 
get these is the purpose of this article 
and this publication. 




Twelve 




STREET SCENES AT BESSEMER, ALA. 

Bessemer is a growing city with 12,000 population, located a few miles from the city limits of Birm 
ingham. It is closely connected with the latter by varions electric and steam railroads and the 
territory between the two cities is so thickly populated as to form almost one. In Bessemer are 
located a number of large furnaces and other industrial plants and a great many business houses. 




STEEL MILL OF THE T. C. I. 86 R R. CO. AT ENSLEY, 
2000 TONS, EMPLOYS 3500 MEN 



DAILY CAPACITY 



Thirteen 




BIRDS-EYE VIEW OF DIMMICKS PIPE WORKS, BIRMINGHAM. EMPLOYS 800 MEN. 

DAILY CAPACITY 250 TONS 




SCENES FROM A GROUP OF MINES IN THE BIRMINGHAM 

DISTRICT 



Fourteen 




The Climate of Bii*miiigl 

ond ^^icliiity 



ItV \V>I. I.KH>IA>-. l.tX'AI. IIKI'K lAI. l'. S. MK ATHKR KL'REAL' 
itlK>ll>'«illA>l. AI.A. 



»°M. I.KII>IAN 



This article was written upon the 
request of the Birmingham Chamber 
of Commerce to be used in a pubHca- 
tion issued by them for the purpose 
of inducing thrifty people, especially 
those following agricultural and horti- 
cultural pursuits to settle upon the 
vacant lands in the Birmingham Dis- 
trict and Jefferson County. It is 
obvious that an article upon climatic 
conditions, written by an official of 
the U. S. Weather Bureau, must be 
based upon facts. He is responsible 
to his department for every word he 
writes. Fortunately 
a treatise on the cli- 
mate of Birmingham 
and vicinity is an 
easy and agreeable 
task, as it will, in its 
essential points, be 
merely a repetition 
and confirmation of 
what has been pub- 
lished about it be- 
fore. The superiority 
of the climate in this 
region has never 
been exaggerated. 
Railroad, commercial 
and other associa- 
tions, however, in 
advertising this sec- 
tion, have always 
limited themselves in 
regard to climate to 
simply showing of- 
ficial tables of tem- 
perature and rainfall. 
These tables while 
conveying a clear idea 
to the homeseeker of 
the mild weather and 
even temperature prevailing in this 
section, yet do not give sufficient 
information to the man coming here 
for the purpose of farming and gar- 
dening. It is not enough for him 
to know the normal weather con- 
ditions. The intelligent tiller of the 
soil in choosing a location must take 
into consideration the unusual and 
abnormal meteorological phenom- 
enons, as they are apt to appear 
in any region. He has to count 
with wind and hail storms, late 
frosts, droughts, or a strong and con- 



tinuous rainfall, all of which will 
naturally have a big influence upon 
the failure or success of his crops. 
Every intelligent person, of course, 
knows such meteorological disturb- 
ances make their appearance more or 
less in every section of this country 
and for that matter all over the world 
and it would be a false policy to 
claim an entire absence of them for 
this section. But these disturbances, 
with the exception of late frosts, hap- 
pen here so seldom, and are of such 
light nature, that it is scarcely worth 




FARMfHOUSES IN JEFFERSON COUNTY 

while to mention them. Losses 
through wind or hail-storms are al- 
most unknown here. Late frosts in 
March or in the first half of April 
happen oftener. In spite of the latter 
fact, however, very few of the native 
farmers think it necessary to provide 
against such frosts as they do in the 
North and West as the losses accruing 
from them are proportionally small 
in most instances. The average tem- 
perature of the short winters from 
December to February is 47 degrees, 
therefore is a little higher yet than 



the April and October temperature of 
the Northern frontier states. Freezing 
weather changes with mild tempera- 
ture in proportion of three days of 
cold weather to six warm days. The 
monthly rainfall in winter is five 
inches, during an average of ten days 
in each month. Snow is almost un- 
known. March in this section cor- 
responds with the month of May in 
the Northern States with a middling 
temperature of 56 degrees and a 
normal rainfall of 5.76 inches. Con- 
siderable less rain falls in April and 
May, while the tem- 
perature rises to 63 
and 73 degrees res- 
pectively. 

From the foregoing 
it will readily be un- 
derstood that the 
prevalent meteorolog- 
ical conditions during 
the winter months 
here are very favor- 
able towards the 
maturing of a bount- 
iful spring crop. The 
reader might ask 
however, "How about 
the tropical heat 
down there during the 
summer?" We can 
answer this question 
by saying that our 
summer is a season 
of great beauty; and 
we can remove all 
doubts of this asser- 
tion, by mentioning 
that roses are in 
bloom here yet, during 
the months of July 
and August. Roses, as it is well 
known, need cool nights, and the sum- 
mer nights in this section are delight- 
fully cool. Experienced travelers, 
well acquainted with the climate and 
weather conditions as they exist in 
other states and sections of this 
country, will and frequently do select 
Birmingham as their choice for a 
summer residence in preference to 
large cities in the North, such as 
Pittsburg, New York and Chicago. 

The intermediate temperature rises 
from 75 degrees in the beginning of 

Fijtftn 



June to[|81 degrees at the end of July 
and then falls again to 75 degrees by 
the middle of September. Rains 
during this season are merely thunder- 
showers of short duration, which flow 
off quickly and moisten the air just 
enough to preserve plant-life without 
causing'any inconvenience to men or 
animals. Summer is followed by a 



mild, pleasant, sunshiny fall with oc- 
casional warm showers, lasting until 
the beginning of December. Now 
and then there are light frosts as 
early as October; but snow or hail in 
the fall are absoultely unknown here. 
From the foregoing it will be seen 
that the climate of Birmingham and 
vicinity is pre-eminently suited for 



and very favorable toward every kind 
of agricultural pursuits. Those of 
our readers who desire further and 
more detailed information about the 
climate and conditions of this sec- 
tion, such as statistical tables, etc., 
may address the Local Office U. S., 
Weather Bureau, Birmingham, Ala. 







FIELD OF PEAS 

These peas were raised by children in the Birmingham District, who are encouraged in their endeavors with prizes 

for the best products of peas, corn, etc.. by prominent business men. 




Sixteen 




Agricultural and Horticultural Possibilities 

in Jefferson County, Ala., Including the 

Birmingham District 



BY G. B. McVAY 



G. B. McVAY 



Birmingham is noted for its mining 
and manufacturing industries, iron and 
steel making and a great many other 
industries consuming iron and steel 
but the possibilities of development 
along the lines of Agriculture and 
Horticulture have not been appre- 
ciated. It must be plain to anyone 
that not only the greater City of 
Birmingham, but the entire county, 
will be inhabited by an enormous 
population in the near future. The 
most conservative citizen will place 
the popula- 
tion of Jeffer- 
son County 
at half a mil- 
lion people 
by 1920. 

Now it fol- 
lows that 
such a com- 
munity and 
class of pop- 
ulation must 
be large con- 
sumers o f 
farm prod- 
ucts of every 
character. It 
must be ad- 
mitted that 
in the past 
but little at- 
tention has 
been paid to 
Agric u 1 1 u r e 
in Jefferson 
County. But 
s :nce the 
enormous 
amount o f 
farm prod- 
ucts c o n - 

sumed daily in Greater Birming- 
ham and distributed throughout the 
district, is now known and estimated 
at fifteen thousand ($15,000.00) dol- 
lars a day (which the writer thinks 
too low) enterprising men have begun 
to wake up and see if these products 
cannot be produced in Jefferson 
County instead of being shipped in 
from long distances as is the case at 
present. It is popular belief that 
since Jefferson County is in fact a 
hilly and rather rugged country that 

Eighteen 



little opportunity exists for agricultur- 
al development and it is the purpose 
of this short article to relate not only 
what is being done in a farming way, 
but call attention to what is possible 
through rational management of the 
soils of this county. 

SOILS. — It is probably not incor- 
rect to say that Jefferson County con- 
tains within its boundaries and in 
close proximity to Birmingham a 
wider range or more different and 
distinct classes of soil than any county 




FIELD OF NAVY BEANS ON TRUCK FARM IN JEFFERSON COUNTY 



in the South. The predominant soil, 
however, may be said to be what is 
known as red lands, although there 
is plenty sandy lands, chocolate 
loams, sandy loams, grey loams, and 
a great quantity of a complex char- 
acter not easily defined. Most of 
these soils are under-laid with a 
porous red clay giving them a good 
foundation, thus rendering them ca- 
pable of high development under 
proper management. I will not at- 
tempt to discuss the most rational 



methods of treatment of the different 
soils to bring them into a high state 
of cultivation because it would lead 
to confusion as so much depends on 
the class of crops to be undertaken. 
But it is enough to say that our soils 
are naturally rich in a number of 
mineral elements so essential to the 
proper development of plant life. 
The most important of these salts 
is potash, in which the red lands are 
especially prolific. The deficiency 
where it exists at all is usually con- 
fined to the 
phosphates, 
nitrogen and 
their com- 
pounds. 
These defici- 
encies are 
easily rem- 
edied through 
the applica- 
tion of barn- 
yard manure, 
commercial 
fer t i 1 i z e r s , 
deep cultiva- 
tion, rotation 
of crops and 
through the 
use of soil 
renovati n g 
plants such 
as cow peas, 
clover s , 
vetches and 
other legum- 
inous plants. 
TOPOG- 
RAPHY.^ 
Much has 
been said 
about the 
hills, mountains and rugged charac- 
ter of Jefferson County. And one 
who passes through the county by 
railroad is easily led into the error 
in assuming that the area of 
tilable land is small. As a matter 
of fact the amount of untilable land 
is very small when compared to the 
total acreage of the county. Broadly 
speaking, Jefferson County is made 
up of a series of hills or high plateaus 
and beautiful fertile valleys. These 
valleys range in width from a half 



mile to five miles or more. Most of 
the farming is carried on in these val- 
leys although some of the most fertile 
lands are on the high table lands, a 
great deal of which is in cultivation 
and furnishes no small percent of the 
county's farm products. These facts 
as to soil and physical conditions are 
given to correct possible error in 
forming hasty conclusions. This sub- 
ject should not be left without calling 
the attention of prospective settlers 
to the splendid public roads already 
in service and those being built. 

And another thing of great im- 
portance is the fact that the county 
is abundantly watered by numerous 



celled railroad facilities ought to 
distribute a large surplus to Northern 
markets. 

BEANS. —Boston is not the only 
city that consumes beans. Taking 
into consideration the size of the two 
cities it is safe to say that Birmingham 
is as far ahead of her as the modern 
aeroplane is ahead of the old hot air 
balloon. It cannot be said, of course, 
that all commercial beans can be pro- 
duced as cheap here as in some other 
states or as profitable but owing to 
the enormous local consumption and 
high freight rates the growth of all 
varieties is well worth trying. What 
the writer knows to be profitable is 



be harvested within forty to fifty -five 
days after planting and that a suc- 
cession of plantings may be made 
around Birmingham up to the first 
of October. It can be seen from 
this, the possible profits from an acre 
in beans during a single season. An- 
other profitable bean is the small 
lima or butter bean, both the dwarf 
and pole. These planted in the 
proper rotation produce money-pay- 
ing crops until November frosts. The 
large commercial limas are not grown 
with any considerable profit. 

CABBAGE.— Cabbage is pretty 
generally considered the truck farm- 
ers' main money crop and the average 




FARM IN SHADES VALLEY NEAR BIRMINGHAM 



streams and no end of great springs. 
In fact, there is scarcely a farm of 
any size in the County that does not 
contain one or more excellent springs. 
VEGETABLE PRODUCE. — It 
would not be an untruth to say that 
Jefferson County affords every class 
of soil for the profitable production 
of all classes of farm products but 
it is the purpose of the writer only 
to point out the most profitable, tak- 
ing into due consideration the ad- 
vantages of the best home market 
for produce in the South. This 
County not only ought to produce a 
sufficient quantity of vegetables for 
its home market, but with its unex- 

Twenly 



what is commonly called snap beans. 
The green podded sorts, both dwarf 
and pole, are in greatest demand. 
Some of our best gardeners report 
yields on good soil of one hundred 
to two hundred bushels of green pods 
to the acre. The price, of course, 
varies widely but it is probably Safe 
to put down the average in a season 
at seventy-five cents per bushel. Now 
all this crop is marketed locally so 
there is no expense for crates or 
packing for shipment. No uncertain- 
ties usually attending shipments by 
express or freight to commission 
houses, etc. It should be borne in 
mind, too, that a crop of beans may 



citizen has but a remote idea of the 
enormous consumption. The great- 
est demand lies with the laboring 
classes, both skilled and unskilled, 
consequently Birmingham with its 
thousands of workmen consume a 
hundred times more cabbage annually 
than is produced in her district. 
Notwithstanding this, there is gener- 
ally a period in early spring when the 
market is glutted with cabbage and 
oddly enough some few cars are 
shipped away and mostly to New 
Orleans. Of course, cabbage being 
a perishable vegetable, it is not pos- 
sible for any one section to supply 
its own wants the year around, except 




CORNFIELD ON R. N. BELL'S FARM, FtTLTON SPRINGS NEAR BIRMINGHAM 



through the use of cold storage. But 
if our truckers would plant at proper 
intervals crops could be harvested 
from April to December. The writer 
has seen the cabbage at its best in a 
number of southern and northern 
states but has never seen better crops 
than is produced on the red lands of 
Jefferson County. W. T. Burrows, 
formerly of Louisville, Ky., and Cin- 
cinnati, Ohio, a local truck farmer, 
makes a specialty of cabbage and his 
crops have averaged him the past 
few years two hundred and fifty dol- 
lars per acre. Some e.xtra good crops 
have been so'd by him for as much 
as five hundred dollars per acre. 
Others can do as well when they have 
had the experience and become ac- 
quainted with the proper knowledge 
when to sow the seed, the proper 
management of 
the plants and 
how to feed the 
crop to obtain 
the greatest 
yield. 

ONIONS.— 
But few dry 
commercial on- 
ions are grown 
in the Birming- 
ham district. 
The consump- 
tion, of course, 
is large. To be 
sure a great 
many onions are 
planted but 
mostly in the 
shape of sets. 
This crop is not 
allowed to ma- 
ture, but are 
pulled up when 
almost grown, 
bunched and 
marketed when 
green. That 
there must be a 

good profit in it is evident by the 
increasing acreage every year. To 
grow good dry commercial onions 
it is necessary to plant seed instead 
of sets. This involves a great deal 
more time, work and pains to pro- 
duce a merchantable crop. Sooner or 
later some one will take up the growth 
of matured commercial onions on a 
large scale, as experiments already 
conducted on a small sca'e show that 
plenty of soils exist capable of pro- 
ducing two hundred and fifty to 
four hundred bushels to the acre. 
Taking seventy -five cents per bushel 
in the local market as a low average 
price it can be seen that the business 
will prove most profitable. 

POTATOES. - Greater Birming- 
ham spends every day in the week 
almost a small fortune for potatoes 
alone. This includes sweet potatoes 

Twenly-Two 



as well as white or Irish potatoes, and 
it is really a reflection on our farmers 
to say that probably more than 
ninety per cent of this money is sent 
away to line the pockets of farmers 
far away. These conditions ought 
not to obtain, because it is absurd 
that we must rely on Florida, Georgia, 
Mississippi, Virginia and Kentucky 
for the bulk of our sweet potatoes 
when they can and should be grown 
in Jefferson County. It is nonsense 
to assert that our soils are not adapted 
to sweet potatoes because a consider- 
able acreage is planted every year 
with splendid yields. The trouble is, 
the acreage is trifling compared to 
the needs of the community. Farmers 
seem to be satisfied with a little 
patch mostly for their own use and 
seem to overlook the fact that a 




SNAP BEAN FIELD ON MR. JACKSON'S TRUCK FARM, JEFFERSON COUNTY 

wagon load of potatoes can be sold 
as readily as a bale of cotton or a coop 
of chickens and with decidedly more 
net profit. There are plenty of soils 
in Jefferson County without even the 
aid of fertilizers that will produce 
one hundred and fifty bushels of 
sweet potatoes to the acre. The 
average price of yams in the local 
m.arket will easily average year 
around seventy-five cents per bushel. 
It is easy to see from this that proba- 
bly no other crop would afford the 
same net revenue per acre. It should 
be borne in mind also that sweet 
potatoes can be planted in our climate 
as late as June, after a crop of cabbage 
or white potatoes has been harvested. 
Birmingham is a large consumer of 
white potatoes commonly called Irish 
potatoes, and a considerable acreage 
is planted not only in early spring 



but in July and August for fall crop 
but it is probably safe to say that 
less than five per cent of the potatoes 
consumed in Jefferson County is 
locally grown. This county pos- 
sessing a wide range of soils as has 
been pointed out, should produce at 
least one-half of the potatoes that 
the Birmingham market needs. The 
yield possibly cannot be said to equal 
certain sections in the west or east, 
but one should remember that the 
local grower has a difference in his 
favor of from twenty-five to thirty 
cents per bushel, account of freight 
charges, that must be paid by the 
public on every car of potatoes 
shipped into Birmingham. It re- 
quires good soil to produce potatoes 
profitably i n this county and 
the yield on go od soil is al- 
most the same 
that is expected 
or gotten in the 
north-we s t . 
The writer has 
seen crops of 
potatoes h a r - 
vested in Jef- 
ferson County 
that would run 
on an average 
one hundred and 
fifty t o two 
hundred bushels 
to the acre. 
Even greater 
yields are not 
impossible and 
when you take 
into account 
the fact that 
there is an un- 
limited demand 
locally it can be 
easily seen that 
there is unques- 
tionably much 
profit in grow- 
ing potatoes for 
the Birmingham market. In esti- 
mating the pDssible profits in growing 
potatoes in this section one should 
not lose sight of the fact that two 
crops a season are easily made so 
that where a short crop might occur 
sometime one has two chances to 
make a profit showing on the same 
piece of ground. The early or 
spring crop is generally planted 
in February and is usually ready 
to harvest in June. Fall crops 
of potatoes are planted in July and 
August and are generally harvested 
about the first to middle of Novem- 
ber. 

ENGLISH OR GARDEN PEAS 

A considerable acreage of garden 

peas are planted in the Birmingham 

district, but it is a well known fact 

that probably eighty to ninety per 



oent of the peas consumed in this 
market are shipped into Birmingham 
from distant points. A careful in- 
vestigation covering a period of three 
years has developed the fact that the 
average price of garden peas has 
been close around one dollar per 
bushel. To be accurate, statistics 
will show that the price has been 
ninety-four cents per bushel. A care- 
ful investigation of the yield has 
proven that local growers have aver- 
aged one hundred and twenty-five 
bushel hampers to the acre. Now 
when it is figured that the crop of 
garden peas is harvested in about 
eight weeks time, the profit in grow- 
ing such a crop for this market is 
thoroughly apparent. 

LETTUCE.— But few farmers ap- 
preciate the possibilities of profit- 
showing in the production of one acre 
of lettuce. Figuring the average 
distance twenty thousand plants to 
the acre is possible. If the crop 
is properly grown and well fer- 
tilized it is not unreasonable to 
expect as much as 239 cents 
per head — this gives an income 
of $500.00 off of an acre and 
when you figure that the crop 
is marketed within ninety days 
after the plant is put out the 
profit is easily figured. There is 
almost an unlimited demand for 
such crops as lettuce in Greater 
Birmingham, and it is really a 
reflection on the farmers 'of Jeff- 
erson County that possibly eighty 
per cent of the lettuce consumed 
in this distrcit is shipped into 
Birmingham by express from dis- 
tant points. 

-TOMATOES. There are three 
specialists in Jefferson County 
who are making good profits out 
of the production of tomatoes 
for the Birmingham market. The 
writer has investigated methods 
employed by these tomato men 
and finds that they are getting an 
income of from $175.00 to $250.00 
per acre and this on land that 
they are renting for $5.00 per 
acre per annum. In fact, they 
are getting a revenue off each 
acre of land cultivated per annum 
a sufficient amount of money to 
buy the land. It is not possible 
in this article to dwell on their 
methods of cultivation, but it is 
sufficient to say that those who 
are devoting their time to the 
culture of the tomato are reaping 
splendid profits from their efforts. 

MELONS.— Jefferson County 
contains almost one hundred 
thousand negroes and it is a well 
known fact that they are the 
largest consumers of melons of 
any other class of people. Con- 

Tuenty-FouT 



sequently, the demand on tha 
Birmingham market for all classes 
of melons is practically unlimited. 
Jefferson County could easily pro- 
duce her own melons but it is a well 
known fact that practically all the 
melons consumed in the Birmingham 
district are shipped in here by car- 
load lots from far distant points. 
The early markets are generally sup- 
plied from Florida points. The de- 
mand in September and even as late 
as October is supplied by northern 
states. The climate in the Birming- 
ham district is such that if melons 
were planted in succession they could 
be had from early spring until the 
latter part of October. A melon crop 
is usually grown with very little 
expense and those who are giving their 
attention to the production of melons 
in the Birmingham district are reap- 
ing splendid profits. Reference is 
made here not only to watermelons 




CABBAGE FIELD ON TRUCK FARM IN 
JEFFERSON COUNTY 



but cantaloupes as well, and the 
writer must say that for quality no 
section of the United States produces 
better cantaloupes than the red hills 
of Jefferson County. 

_ MISCELLANEOUS GARDEN 
TRUCK. — It is not possible in this 
short article to go into detail about 
every different class of crop that can 
be grown in Jefferson County profit- 
ably, but a few will be mention- 
ed here that are being grown and 
at considerable profit. The main 
trouble is that they are not grown in 
such quantities as the local market 
demands. There is almost an un- 
limited demand for what is known as 
greens, including such vegetables as 
collards, spinach, kale, mustard, rape 
and turnips. These are quick grow- 
ing crops, meet with ready sale and 
are grown with considerable profit. 
These crops, of course, should be 
grown in connection with others so 
that one is able to take care of the 
demand for this particular class 
of crops. As an illustration of 
what might be done with this 
class of crops the writer knows 
of a truck farmer who sold 
$1,270.00 worth of spinach last 
fall or winter from five acres of 
ground. Most anyone can repeat 
the same thing year in and 
year out. Another very profit- 
able crop that is grown locally is 
okra, and it is probably one of 
the most profit- able minor crops 
that is grown in Jefferson Cou- 
nty. The demand is practically 
unlimited and as the growing 
period extends from June until 
the middle of November, it is 
easily seen that the opportunity 
with this particular crop should 
not be overlooked. There is a 
splendid local demand for such 
crops as radishes, beets, squash, 
carrot, cucumbers, arsnipps and 
pepper. And while these crops 
are grown very successfully in a 
small way the majority of such 
vegetables are shipped into Bir- 
mingham in car load or mixed 
carload lots from distant points. 
A careful investigation of the 
needs and the enormous con- 
sumption in the Birmingham 
District of all classes of farm 
products would lead any investi- 
gator to the conclusion that the 
business of growing produce for 
the Birmingham market would 
afford a fine return for the effort 
and money invested. 




Agricultural Conditions and Possibilities in The 

Birmingham District 



O. L. AYRS 

The Birmingham District is known 
chiefly for its many mining and manu- 
facturing industries. Because of the 
unprecedented natural advantages 
which the region offers these in- 
dustries, all the activities have cen- 
tered around them and little attention 
has been given to the agricultural 
possibilities. The country, however, 
possesses many advantages which 
should appeal to the farmer. The 
large population assembled here has 
created an exceptionally good market 
for a 1 1 food 
product s . 
Thousands of 
carloads of hay 
and grain are 
shipped in from 
the Western 
States each 
year. The 
Northern States 
send in thou- 
sands of bushels 
of potatoes, and 
large quantities 
of poultry, eggs 
and meat are 
brought in from 
neighboring 
states. In fact 
the region does 
not furnish 
enough of any 
single commod- 
ity to meet its 
own needs. 
Hay, according 
to kind and 
quality, sells for 
$14 to $25 per 
ton, com 75 
cents to 90 

cents per bushel, Irish potatoes 60 
cents to $1.00 per bushel, sweet 
potatoes 75 cents to $1.25 per 
bushel, peaches 75 cents to $2.00 per 
bushel, strawberries 8 cents to 15 
cents per quart and other crops at 
corresponding prices. 

Because of these facts the general 
impression has gone out that the 
soils are so poor that farming is not 
profitable here. This is incorrect. 
The region possesses a variety of 
soils, some of which are suitable for 

Ttcenly-Six 



BY O. L. AYRS 



almost every crop grown. The Bir- 
mingham District lies at the extreme 
Southern end of the Appalachian 
province, and many different geo- 
logical formations are exposed here, 
each of which exerts a modifying in- 
fluence upon the soil. 

Birmingham lies in a broad lime- 
stone valley (Jones Valley) some thirty 
miles long. The soils here are mainly 
yellow to brown and red loams and 
clay loams. Like all limestone soils, 
these produce good yields of corn, hay 




SNAP BEAN FIELD_ON TRUCK FARM, JEFFERSON COUNTY 



and general farm crops when properly 
cultivated. Within the valley and 
along its sides, are many small 
gravelly and stony ridges. These pro- 
duce fine peaches and other fruits. 

Red Mountain lies to the South- 
east of this valley. It is rich in iron 
and is one of the district's chief 
sources of wealth, but is of no agri- 
cultural importance. Beyond the 
mountain is a second broad valley. 
Here the soils are derived from shale 
and sandstone rock and vary in char- 



acter from sandy loam to silt loam. 
These soils are not as strong as those 
in Jones Valley, but are more easily 
cultivated and produce fine yields of 
truck and garden crops. A portion 
of it lies quite low and is good grass 
land. Northwest of Birmingham the 
country consists of a series of rough 
broken ridges with deep narrow in- 
tervening valleys. These valleys, ex- 
cept for narrow areas at the bottom, 
are usually too rough for cultivation. 
The tops of the ridges consist of 
nearly level 
areas one-eighth 
to one-fourth of 
a m i 1 e wide. 
The soil here 
is a fine sandy 
loam to loam. 
Good yields of 
fine Irish and 
sweet potatoes 
are produced. 
Strawberries 
and other small 
fruits do well, 
and melons and 
other truck 
crops are profit- 
able. 

The long sea- 
sons here make 
it possible to 
grow two crops 
per year o n 
nearly all land. 
The rain fall is 
usually so dis- 
tributed that no 
trouble is expe- 
rienced from 
drought, except 
for a short time 
in September or October. 

A truck farm with a well selected 
rotation of crops can have produce to 
put on the market eight months out 
of the year. In the valley near Bir- 
mingham about one-half of the agri- 
cultural land is under cultivation. 
In other parts of the district less 
than one-fourth of the land available 
for agriculture is being made use of. 
Irish potatoes, sweet potatoes, to- 
matoes, cabbage and beans are among 
the more profitable crops at the pres- 



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ent time. Many are beginning to 
plant small areas to these crops and 
there is a period of ten days to two 
weeks at the height of the season 
when the market is well supplied, 
but the successful grower who man- 
ages his crop so as to bring it on the 
market a few days ahead of the rush 
or better yet, two weeks later than 
the main crop, always finds a ready 
market. 

Irish potatoes are planted from 
February 20th to May 1st. The 
earliest ones are ready for market 
June 15th. These may be followed 
by a second crop of potatoes, a crop 
of June corn, sweet potatoes, cow 
peas, or soy-beans. The yield of 
potatoes ranges from 80 to 175 
bushels per acre. It is thought by 
many that the crop cannot be kept 
and an effort is made to rush them 
on the market at the earliest possible 
moment. This usually gluts the 
market for a short time. By plant- 
ing the later varieties the careful 
grower can hold his crop back until 
after the rush is past and with the 
average season he can leave the ma- 
ture potatoes in the ground four to 
eight weeks before digging. Pota- 
toes may also be stored for several 
weeks by spreading them in thin 
layers in a dark well ventilated place. 
This can be done at a small expense 



and a better price will be realized 
by selling the crop slightly out of 
season. 

When a second crop is planted the 
seed is taken from the small potatoes 
of the first crop and planted during 
July or the first week in August. 
This crop continues to grow until 
late fall and may be stored during 
the winter for the next season's 
seed or sold on the winter markets. 
The yield of the second crop is 
usually about two-thirds that of the 
crop. 

Sweet potatoes are started in beds 
and the plants transferred to the 
field during May and June. This 
makes it possible to follow the earli- 
est Irish potatoes with sweet pota- 
toes. A few sweet potatoes reach 
the market in August and they con- 
tinue to be harvested then on dur- 
ing the fall. The bulk of the crop 
is dug in October. They can be 
stored on the market at any time dur- 
ing the winter. The yield is usually 
about 100 bushels per acre. 

Tomatoes are set out here as soon 
as danger of frost is passed, usually 
about the first of April. They do not 
continue to bear through the entire 
season here, as they do in the North. 
The earliest ones begin to ripen in 
June and in a few weeks the entire 
crop reaches maturity and the plants 




FARM SCENE. SHADES VALLEY NEAR BIRMINGHAM 



die. This difference in the habit 'of 
the plant can be overcome by con- 
tinuing to set out new plants every 
ten days or two weeks up to August 
first. This will make it possible to 
have a continuous supply of fruit 
from June until late fall. 

Cabbage being more hardy is 
placed in the ground earlier than to- 
matoes and the earliest is ready for 
market the latter part of May. The 
bulk of the crop reaches market in 
June and by July 15th very little of 
the home-grown product is to be 
found . 

This is essentially a cool weather 
crop and cannot be grown through 
the entire season as successfuly as 
tomatoes. However, by selectinlg late 
varieties and setting the plants out 
late in protected places, a portion of 
the crop can be held back until 
August 1st or 15th, when it will 
command a better market than the 
early crop. A second or late crop 
can be put out in August. This will 
reach maturity in November when the 
market is usually good. 

All varieties of beans do well here. 
The first string or snap bean are 
ready for use in May and by making 
frequent plantings one can have beans 
for market from then until the first 
frost late in the fall. They are a 
favorite vegetable and are always in 

demand. 

While the 
crops just 
considered 
are probably 
the ones 
which would 
be the most 
profitabl e , 
practically all 
the crops 
grown in the 
middle and 
North e r n 
States can be 
raised here 
successfully. 
Grain and 
forage prod- 
ucts always 
command a 
good price. 
Compara- 
tively little 
live stock is 
kept at pres- 
ent and i n 
order to have 
the best suc- 
c e s s there 
must be an 
increa se 
along this 
line. 



Tw^nty-Eigftl 



Extract From the U. S. Soil Survey of 
Jefferson County, Alabama 

1910 



Jefferson County, named in honor 
of our third President, is located in 
north-central Alabama, on the south- 
em extension of the Appalachian 
system and in the center of rich iron, 
coal and limestone belt of the South. 
The county contains 719,360 acres, 
or 1,124 square miles, and is an ir- 
regularly shaped parallelogram, with 
its longer dimension, 46 miles, from 
east to west, and its shorter, 38 miles, 
from northeast to southwest. 

The surface of the country is 
mainly mountainous to hilly and the 
drainage is well developed, as shown by 
the numberless rounded hills, valleys, 
and the much 
dissected s ur- 
face. 

In 1817 Ala- 
bama was or- 
ganized as a 
territory, and 
in 1819, admit 
ted as a State. 
At the first 
session of the 
legislature Jeff- 
erson County 
was formed from 
the southern 
portion of 
Blount County. 
Since 1890, how- 
ever, as part 
of Jefferson has 
been annexed 
to Walker, and 
a portion o f 
Shelby joined 
to Jefferson. In 
1815 a fort had 
been erected 
near Old Jones- 
boro and a col- 
ony o f Ten- 

nesseans had settled near Woodlajvn. 
Most of the early settlers were from 
Tennessee, Kentucky, and the Caro- 
linas. The '.and was then in forest. 
Jones and Opossum Valleys were 
;Iearcd fiisl and necessaries like 
corn, oats, wheat, beef, and pork 
were produced. 

The mild climate, fertile soil, and 
river communication caused the pop- 
ulation to increase rapidly. The fol- 
lowing table shows the remarkable 
development since 1880 — a develop- 
ment due mainly to the commercial 
exploitation of the great deposits 
of limestone, red and brown ore, and 
bituminous coal. 

Thirly 



Population of Jefferson 
County, Ala., 1880 to 1910 

1880 „ 23,272 

1890. 88,501 

1900 140,420 

1910 235,000 

At present the population is chiefly 
in the cities. The inhabitants are 
cosmopolitan, including Europeans, 
most of whom labor in mines and pub- 
lic works, and people from all states 
who have been attracted by the 
varied industries and rich possibilities 
of the county. Birmingham, the 
county seat, has now an estimated 




SWEET POTATO FIELD, OPOSSUM VALLEY NEAR BIRMINGHAM 



population of 150,000, while Bessemer 
and Ensley are flourishing cities that 
have doubled their population during 
the last few years. 

At present there is no water com- 
munication to the sea, but the trans- 
portation of the county is carried on 
by nine main railroad lines that cover 
all the county except the extreme 
western portions, in the mountain- 
ous districts. The following rail- 
roads enter Birmingham: Alabama 
Great Southern; Atlanta, Birmingham 
and Atlantic; St. Louis and San Fran- 
cisco; Central of Georgia; Mobile 
and Ohio; Louisville and Nashville; 
Seaboard Air Line; Illinois Central; 



and Southern. A well-developed sys- 
tem of street and interurban freight 
and passenger electric lines connect 
all points between Birmingham and 
Bessemer. There are many jobbing 
and wholesale houses that import 
foodstuffs and the varied necessities 
of a densely populated industrial 
center. It is asserted that about 
28,000 carloads of alfalfa and other 
classes of hay are annually shipped 
in from a dozen near-by states. In 
spite of the fact that two good crops 
of Irish potatoes can be raised an- 
nually, these and other vegetables 
are shipped in from Wisconsin and 
other Northern 
States. These 
fruits and vege- 
tables necessari- 
ly bring high 
prices and could 
be more cheaply 
grown at home. 
Nearly all the 
county has ru- 
ral free delivery. 
There is a good 
system of rural 
schools, high 
schools, and 
several colleges. 
The county is 
traversed b y 
over 1,100 miles 
of wagon roads, 
220 miles which 
are macadam- 
i z e d . Other 
roads are being 
rebuilt, and 
this work will 
b e continued 
until all the 
main roads are 
improved. With 
the abundance of limestone for 
cement, and accessible sandstone and 
chert, road improvement is easily 
and cheaply carried on. 

The industrial development in Jef- 
ferson County has been so rapid that 
agriculture has not kept pace with 
it. In spite of the extremely high 
prices paid for all farm products, the 
county produces but an insignificant 
fraction of its foodstuffs. At present, 
even with the increasing prices for 
land, it is not unusual for a farmer to 
buy land and sell enough truck to 
pay for it in from one to three years. 
Notwithstanding this and the abun- 
dance of truck soil, the industry is in 




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its infancy, the bulk of the vegetables 
coming from outside the State. 

During the last five years the mar- 
ket-gardening industry has become a 
leading feature on the soils within 
driving distance of Birmingham. The 
gardens are from one to five acreas 
in extent, and while not farmed as 
systematically as in older localities 
where the industry has been long 
established, in proportion to labor 
and capital invested they are extreme- 
ly profitable. Truck land can be 
rented for from $1 to $5 an acre. The 
demand for sweet corn is great and 
two crops can be produced, the first 
being sold in June and the second in 
the fall. 

Watermelons are a general crop on 
many farms, where the owners make 
a practice of having something to sell 
whenever they go 
to thecity. Melons 
are extremely 
profitable and 
succeed best on 
the sandy soils, 
though heavy ap- 
plications of fer- 
ilizers are re- 
quired, and but 
one crop can be 
grown in the same 
field without ro- 
tation or a rest of 
several years . 
Two crops of Irish 
potatoes can be 
grown in seasons 
of sufficient rain- 
fall. The first crop 
averages 125 to 
175 bushels an 
acre ; the second 
i s expected t o 
yield about 100 
bushels. Only one 
crop can be pro- 
duced from south - 
em-grown seed. 

Sweet potatoes succeed well on all 
the lighter soils. The yield ranging 
from 150 to 250 bushels per acre. 
Although prices are never less than 
75 cents a bushel, and often more than 
$1, only small patches are planted. 
The "Bunch Yam" and Dooley are 
favorites. There is room for the 
farmer who understands the crop and 
soil adaption to grow both kinds of 
potatoes on a large commercial scale. 

Tomatoes do well on all soils, but 
succeed best on well-fertilized heavier 
types. In July and August, during 
market gluts, they may sell as low 
as 30 cents a bushel, when some may 
be shipped south. Even at this 
price they should be profitable, as 
yields of over 200 bushels per acre 
are often reported. Very early or 
late tomatoes often bring $1 a basket 
of less than one-half bushel capacity. 

Thirty-Two 



Cabbage should be more generally 
grown, especially on the Decatur, 
Upshur, and Hagerstown soils. In 
July and August there is often a 
scarcity, large consignments being 
shipped from the North. 

The Dekalb and limestone soils 
are well adapted to strawberries and 
blackberries, although few are grown, 
and berries are imported from the 
South and from Cullman County. 
The price is always high and the 
culture of these fruits would prove 
profitable. Large quantities of can- 
taloupes are grown and marketed at 
profitable prices. Beets, peas, pep- 
pers, cucumbers, kale, spinach and 
cauliflower find a ready sale and are 
well adapted to the lighter sandy 
Dekalb soils. Turnips are universally 
grown as a winter crop. 




COUNTRY ROAD IN BIRMINGHAM DISTRICT 



The culture of tree fruits is in a 
neglected condition. Several years 
ago many pear orchards were planted. 
These did well for a time, but have 
lately been damaged by blight. The 
Kieffer and the Garber seem most 
resistent to this disease. Peach cul- 
ture has been tried, the prevailing 
opinion being that peaches are not 
adapted to the soil or climate. Judg- 
ing from the present lack of care, 
past failures have been due more to 
a lack of knowledge concerning the 
culture and care of the trees than to 
soil or climatic conditions. The soil 
survey reports of Blount and Tal- 
ladega Counties, where the climate 
and soils are similar to those of this 
county, state that success has been 
had in growing the Elberta peach. 
There is little doubt that when the 
proper cultural methods are under- 



stood it will be found that the slopes 
of the Dekalb shale loam and the 
phases of the silt loam and sandy 
loam will produce well. Healthy 
growing trees were often seen on 
these types. The Clarksville stony 
loam will also produce a high quality 
of fruit. 

Climate and elevation do not adapt 
the county to the growing of long- 
keeping winter apples, but they can 
be grown and kept until January. 
Hackworth is a favorite summer fruit, 
while Ben Davis on the Clarksville 
and Winesap on the Hagerstown 
stony loam should do well. 

Judging from the abundance of 
wild plums and grapes, certain of the 
tame varieties should do well, es- 
pecially at higher elevations. Few 
cultivated grapes are seen, but the 
vines were thrifty 
and productive. 
The stony, gravel- 
ly, and shaly 
phases of all soils 
will produce scup- 
pernongs and 
muscadines o f 
good flavor. 

On the whole, 
Birmingham with 
its increasing pop- 
ulation, furnishes 
one of the best 
markets in the 
South for all soil 
products, and the 
soils are so we'l 
adapted to truck 
and other s u b - 
sistence crops that 
many times the 
area now devoted 
to their production 
could be profitably 
utilized. 

Although the 
soil will produce 
all the standard 
forage crops, the dairy interest are 
not extensively developed. The 
farmer keeps one or two cows for 
family use. Near Birmingham 
numerous small dairies of six to 
twelve cows supply milk for city use. 
The dairies are frequently examined 
by a sanitary inspector and the milk 
is of good quality and meets a ready 
sale at 25 cents a gallon wholesale or 
10 cents a quart retail the year round. 

Soils 

The great diversity of the soils of 
Jefferson County, with their accom- 
panying variations of elevation, slope, 
drainage, etc., adapting them to a 
considerable range of agricultural use, 
results largely from their formation 
from these rocks of widely varying 
textural and mineralogical character- 
istics. The resulting soils range in 



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their texture from the excessively 
stony members of the Dekalb and 
Clarksville series, which contain in 
many places from 50 to 75 per cent 
of sandstone and chert fragments, 
through the light textured Dekalb 
fine sandy loam, to the heavy Wabash 
and Conasauga clays. The depth of 
the soil material varies from a few 
inches in the rougher portions of the 
county to many feet in the case of the 
Himtington,_ Decatur and Hagers- 
town soils. 

[ In topographic position the soils 
range from the level Huntington silt 
loam to the mountainous rough, 
stony land and the knolls and ridges 
of the Clarksville stony loam. As 
already stated, the Dekalb series is 
derived from the Carboniferous rocks, 
the silty and sandy members occur- 
ing where the to- 
pography is 
smoothest and 
conditions for the 
accumulation of a 
com parative ly 
deep, fine-textured 
soil most favorable. 
Among these 
Carboni f e rous 
rocks are found 
irregular knobs, 
narrow droughty 
ridges and long 
trough-shaped val- 
leys. 

The Clarksville 
loam owes its 
origin mainly to 
the Fort Payne 
chert formation of 
the lower Sucar- 
boniferous and to 
the cherty inclu- 
sions in the Knox 
dolomite formation 
of the lower Silu- 
rian. The greater 
proportion of this 

type occupies the cherty hills and 
ridges northeast of Birmingham 
between Red Mountain and Sand 
Mountain, ending in mountains of 
rough stony land farther north. •= if 

The Upshur stony loam is derived 
from the Clinton iron ore of the 
Red Mountain formation, which, up- 
on weathering, gives rise to a soil 
along the exposed narrow ridges. 

The Conasauga clay and certain 
phases of the Hagerstown soils are 
derived from the flatwoods or Coosa 
shales of Cambrian age, which are 
characterized by shales and inter- 
bedded limestones of nearly vertical 
inclination. 

The Knox dolomite and the Tren- 
ton limestone contribute most largely 
to the formation of the Decatur and 
Hagerstown soils occupying the Jones 
and Opossum valleys, though in the 
TUrly-Fvur 



case of Hagerstown stony loam more 
or less of the stony material comes 
from the cherty formations giving 
rise to the Clarksville stony loam. 

The Huntington silt loam, Hunting- 
ton gravelly loam, and Wabash clay 
are alluvial soils derived from sedi- 
ments deposited by streams at times 
of high water, and are still in process 
of formation. 

Summary 

The Jefferson County Area lies 
in the north-central part of the State 
of Alabama and comprises 719,360 
acres, or 1,124 square miles. It is 
the seat of the most extensive coal, 
iron and limestone deposits in the 
South. 

The county has two main topog- 
raphic divisions — the Cahaba Valley 




A $600 COTTAGE 

and the valleys of Jones and Opossum 
creeks, and the much disected upland 
to the north and west of these val- 
leys. The elevation varies from less 
than 240 to 1,400 feet, with an aver- 
age of 500 to 800 feet above sea. 

The important rivers are Little 
Cahaba, Warrior and Locust Fork. 

Transportation facilities are good. 
In addition to nine main railroads, 
there is an excellent system of 
macadamized roads. 

The principal cities and towns are 
Birmingham, with its numerous sub- 
urbs, and Bessemer, Ensley, Leeds, 
Trussville and Warrior. 

The climate is exceptionally mild 
and favorable to a wide variety of 
staple and special crops. Snow is 
rare, and freezing weather seldom 
lasts for more than a few days each 
winter. The rainfall is ample for 



crop growth and generally well dis- 
tributed throughout the year. 

Industrial development has stimu- 
lated trucking and general produce 
farming. The staple crops in general 
are corn and cotton with some forage 
crops. Dairying interests are being 
extended. 

Farm labor is chiefly colored and is 
well paid owing to competition with 
the mines and other industrial enter- 
prises. 

Deeper plowing and more frequent 
tillage should be practiced. Winter 
cover crops should be sown on all 
cotton and corn fields in order to 
prevent erosion and leaching, and at 
the same time to add humus to the 
soil. 

Systematic rotation should be in- 
troduced. 

More hogs and 
farm stock should 
be kept. Goats 
and sheep will do 
well in forested 
portions and no 
non-agricultural 
land. 

Thirteen soil 
types, representing 
eight series, were 
mapped in the 
county. As re- 
gards manner of 
formation, these 
soils are of two 
broad classes, 
namely, alluvail 
and residual. 

The alluvial 
soils are the Wa- 
bash clay, Hunt- 
ington gravelly 
loam, and Hunt- 
ington silt loam. 
The first two are 
important soils, 
but of limited 
extent. The last 
named is a very strong soil and is 
a favorite for the growing of corn 
and truck. 

The residual limestone soils include 
the Decatur clay loam, Hagerstown 
stony loam, Hagerstown loam, and 
the Clarksville stony loam. 

The Decatur clay loam is a strong 
soil, but the bulk of the type is located 
close to growing cities, and is held 
at high prices for building sites. It 
is naturally suited to a wide range of 
crops, and with careful tillage and the 
use of manures can be profitably used 
for trucking. 

The Hagerstown stony loam is well 
adapted to fruit growing^and to the 
usual farm crops. 

The Hagerstown loam is a good 
general farming soil and its use for 
market gardening is increasing. 
The Clarksville stony loam is the 



best soil for the growing of tree and 
bush fruits. Systematic orcharding 
would be very profitable here. 

The Dekalb shale loam, residual 
for shale, occurs in the rougher up- 
land country. Hillside areas have 
many of the physical characteristics 
of the grape soils of the Northern 



States. The famous scuppernong 
grape grows especially well on the 
hilly ridges and slopes. The type 
is susceptible of improvement and 
under modern methods is a profitable 
farming soil. Where the slope per- 
mits, Irish potatoes will succeed. It 
is better adapted to Irish than sweet 



potatoes. 

f, The Dekalb silt loam is of very 
wide extent and has certain variations 
of texture that make it a favorite for 
general farming and trucking. Mar- 
ket gardening will prove more profi- 
table on this type than any other form 
of agriculture. 




REGISTERED JERSEY COW AND CALF RAISED ON R. N. BELL'S 
FARM, FULTON SPRINGS NEAR BIRMINGHAM 



Thirly-Fitl 



Letters From Local Truck Farmers to The Farm Movement 

Department 



From a Florist and Gardener 




A. J. KOENIG 

Mr. Koenig's Greenhouses will found on 
another page 

Woodlawn, Ala., July 29 1910. 
Mr. S. Hechinger, 

Birmingham, Ala. 
Dear Sir: 

In reply to your question, "What are the 
possibilities of success in the Floricultural, 
Horticultural and vegetable growing line, 
in the Birmingham District, and Jefferson 
County, Ala." I will state that I have had 
30 years' experience in the business, south 
of the Ohio River, and of the several places 
where I have been located, I consider the 
Birmingham District superior to some lo- 
calities which are reputed to be ideal. The 
greatest drawback here it seems to me, is 
that we have not got the men here who 
thoroughly understand the Horticultural and 
Gardening business and who are capable and 
willing to devote their best efforts in that 
line. But a few here seem very successful, 
and they are men who are not what we 
might term professionals in these lines 
either. I have in mind several who had 
other trades and who drifted into the gar- 
dening and vegetable growing line, and 
are very successful. 

As to myself, with my life experience in 
the florist and gardening business, I have 
been able to grow as fine a stock of flowers 
and vegetables as can be grown anywhere 
in the United States. 

My experience with roses, carnations, 
chrysanthemums, bedding plants, etc., etc., 
is, that we can compete with any part of 
the country. 

As to vegetable growing, this locality will 
compare favorably with such noted districts 
as Louisville, Ky., and parts of Indiana 
and Ohio, and the demand and prices are 
certainly far better here. I am confident 
that experienced men who thoroughly under- 
stand gardening could make Jefferson County 
one of the garden spots of the South, and a 
man's chances of making money would only 
be limited by his capabilities of producing 
the goods. In certain localities I also find 
that fruits such as apples, peaches, plums, 

Thirty-Six 



etc., do exceptionally well; while small 
fruits, such as strawberries, raspberries, 
blackberries, etc., make excellent crops. 
Having had the chance of seeing almost 
every part of Jefferson County for the last 
five summers, and having noticed the grow- 
ing crops very closely, I found that certain 
localities are far superior for some crops 
than others, the cause of this is that we 
have so many different kinds of soil here, 
in some places the soil being a very rich 
red loam, some places sandy, some clay, and 
also limestone soil. A great many times 
all the different soils can be found on a ten 
acre tract, some of the mountain sides are 
cherly and stony but make excellent orchards 
and vineyards. 

Of course we have our troubles here just 
the same as in other states, sometimes a 
little too wet and sometimes a little too dry, 
but taking it altogether it is God's country 
anyway. 

Having had the wanderlust very badly 
in my younger days, I traveled through 
almost every state in the Union several 
times, looking for an ideal place to settle, 
and I found that even the ideal places have 
the same drawbacks that we find here, only 
very often worse. I would like to dwell 
en several other subjects, such as our very 
fine climate, pure water, etc., but time 
prevents. 

In conclusion, I would like to say that, 
in my estimation, anyone settling in Jefferson 
County and devoting their energy and brains 
to any line in agriculture or horticulture, 
would undoubtedly be successful beyond 
their fondest dreams; at least that has been 
the experience of 

Yours truly, 

A. J. KOENIG. 



$418 worth of Strawberries 
from one-quarter of an acre 

Ensley, Ala., June 29th, 1910. 
Mr. S. Hechinger, Secretary, 

Farm Movement Department, 
Chamber of Commerce, 
Birmingham, Ala. 
Dear Sir: 

In view of the movement of your Chamber 
of Commerce to induce farmers and truck- 
gardeners to come to our county, perhaps a 
bit of information in regard to the fertility 
of our soils may be useful to you. I am 
cultivating a forty acre farm, three miles 
from Ensley, which brings me an income of 
$1,800.00 a year, besides making a living for 
two other families, who work for me on 
half shares. We raise all kinds of vegetables 
and have two acres in strawberries. Per- 
haps you will think I exaggerate, when I 
tell you that I sold this spring $418.00 worth 



of strawberries from one-quarter of an acre, 
and my land is no better than most of the 
lands in Jefferson County. There is no 
trouble for any man who has grit and un- 
derstands farming and gardening to make 
money here. We have the lands and the 
climate and the market — a combination 
which cannot be found in any other region — 
and if once the people in the North will 
realize these great advantages, they will 
flock down here as fast as the railroads can 
carry them. 

Yours for success, 

W. L. RICKLES. 



rom a Lierman 



Gard 



ener 




FRITZ BOCK 

A Picture of Mr. Bock's Farm will be Found 
on Another Page. 
Powderly, Ala., July 16th, 1910. 
Mr. S. Hechinger, Secretary, 

Birmingham, Ala. 
Dear Sir:— 

I immigrated to this country from Germany 
three and a half years ago, and after living 
in New Jersey for a little while, I came to 
the Birmingham District, in the fall of 1908. 
I had only a few dollars left when I arrived 
here, not enough to begin anything with 
and although I am a professional gardener, 
I first worked in coal mines and succeeded 
in saving about $300 from my wages in the 
course of 18 months. In April of this year 
I leased a five acre truck farm about two 
miles from the center of the city for which 
I pay $15.00 a month rent, including the 
house. The land on this place had been 
cultivated before, but was in a sadly neglected 
condition. It responded nevertheless very 
quickly to the proper handling — thorough 
plowing and a plentiful supply of manure — 
and in June, scarcely two months after I 
took hold of the place, I had a generous 
crop of vegetables, such as cabbage, toma- 
toes, radishes, lettuce, snap-beans, peas, etc., 
the proceeds of which amounted to $30.00 
a week. I have one mule and with the ex- 
ception of hiring a man for a couple of days, 
I did all the work myself. I sell my vege- 
tables direct to consumers in my neighbor- 
hood from a wagon, and never had any 



trouble with disposing of all I carry with me. 
This is a fine country. The summer 
heat is not greater here than it is in New 
Jersey and the winters are very mild; I 
have plenty of good water on my place and 
smce coming here my family, as well as my- 
self, have been in excellent health. I re- 
gard the Birmingham District as a good 
section for people to settle, especially for 
farmers and gardeners. There is a great 
demand here for poultry and eggs, as well 
as vegetables and fruits and with the cheap 
lands for rent and sale I do not see why more 
people do not come down here to live. It 
must be that they do not know the oppor- 
tunities which are here for every man who 
is willing to work and use the advantages this 
section offers. Birmingham is a great town 
and from all I see it will greatly develop 
in the next few years. 

Yours respectfully, 

FRITZ BOCK. 



rom 



Successful 
Gardener 



Market 




B. C. CARMAN 

Farm Movement Committee, 

Chamber of Commerce, 
Birmingham, Ala. 
Gentlemen: — 

My three years' experience in vegetable- 
gardening in the Birmingham District and 
the results I have obtained certainly prove 
that there is not any section to be found 
anywhere in this country, where a practical 
farmer or gardener can succeed quicker 
than he can here. The man with 
plenty of money can of course 
make a success anywhere, but I 
speak of the man, who has only a 
few hundred dollars to start with, 
and who is intelligent, thrifty and 
knows his business. He cannot 
select a better location. The 
soils are fertile and readily yield 
to an intelligent handling. The 
climate is mild; we have one of 
the healthiest cities in the country 
and Birmingham is the best mar- 
ket in the South. I rented my 
place three years ago. The land 
had not been cultivated for several 
years and was overrun with 
weeds. Notwithstanding this, I 
succeeded in raising during the first 
year a crop of vegetables which 
brought me $1,800. This year 



my crops on five acres 
were about as follows; 
One and one-half 
acre English peas, one- 
half acre turnips, one- 
half acre beets, one- 
half acre carrots, 
three-quarters acre 
lettuce, one-half acre 
spinach and the bal- 
ance t o mustard, 
radish, Swiss onions, 
kohl rabi, etc. I 
also have 1,800 feet 
of hot-bed that I use 
for starting early 
plants. 

Part of my spinach 
and onions I planted 
last fall, also a few 
turnips and some cel- 
ery that I marketed 
in January and Feb- 
ruary. 

On January 12th I 
planted one acre to 
English peas; on Feb- 
ruary 1st to 10th I 
planted beets, carrots, 
lettuce, turnips, rad- 
ish mustard, spinach and parsley. I 
planted my peas in rows 4 1-2 feet apart and 
on March 15th I planted a row of corn be- 
tween each row of peas. I planted my let- 
tuce, carrots and beets in rows 12 inches 
apart with every fourth row 16 inches. On 
March 21st I planted early com in the 16 
inch rows. I mixed a few radish seed with 
the carrot seed; the radish came off first and 
were sold before the carrots were large 
enough to need work. 

I also mixed radish seed with parsley seed 
and got a crop of radish before the parsley 
needed work. I sowed mustard in beds, 
also some turnips and sold greens which was 
off the ground by first of April and I set 
this ground to egg-plants and pepper. My 





THIS 

$40.00 



WAGON LOAD OF VEGETABLES BROUGHT 
IN THE BIRMINGHAM MARKET. IT IS FROM 
THE TRUCK FARM OF B. C. GARMAN 



TOMATOES AND TURNIPS FROM B. C. GARMAN'S 
TRUCK FARM IN SUBURB OF BIRMINGHAM 



spinach v/as ready to market in time to set 
the ground to tomatoes. I also planted 
okra, squash and cucumbers between my 
turnip rows. On the 8th of March I sold 
radish, on the 19th of March I sold mustard 
and turnip greens, on April 5th sold first 
beets, sold the first head lettuce on April 
7th, first spring spinach March 9th, first 
carrots May 1st, first tomatoes June 4th, 
first com June 21st. By August the first 
all the crops mentioned except egg-plants 
and pepper had been sold and the ground 
being planted to fall crops such as snap 
beans, beets, carrots, salsify, kohl rabi, 
endine, lettuce, spinach and celery. 

My help in making and marketing this 
crop cost me $120.00 and my son helped 
morning and evening before and 
after school. I have sold to 
August first, $1,503.68, and 
expect my fall crop to bring me 
as much as the spring crop. 

The foregoing description of 
my work this year gives a fairly 
good idea what can be accom- 
plished with the soils here; and 
what I am doing every one can do 
here, who thoroughly understand 
gardening and applies the neces- 
sary industry, patience and 
perseverance. 

Yours very truly, 
B. C. GARMAN, 

201 Canal Street, West End. 



Thirty-Sewn 



From an Amateur Chicken 
Raiser 

The following letter was written by a 
young man, holding a position in the city. 
He lives in a beautiful little home, owned by 
him — the reward of a few years of thrift 
and economy. 
Mr. S. Hechinger, 

Secretary Farm Movement Dept., 
Chamber of Commerce, B'ham, Ala. 
Dear Sir:— 

We have a small home in one of the pret- 
tiest spots in our beautiful city and besides 
our little garden, which furnishes us all the 
vegetables we can eat the year around, we 
raise chickens. 

We have demonstrated to ourselves, at 
least, that chickens may be most profitably 
raised and kept in a small space if one is 
willing to pay attention to details, as is 
necessary to make a success of anything. 
Our actual chicken yard is only 20x50 feet. 
Two seasons ago 
we started with 
one male and three 
females of the 
B u ff Orpington 
breed — the most 
desirable, we think, 
of course. We se- 
Qure quality in 
our stock in pref- 
erence to quantity, 
going to a leading 
breeder for our 
start. Later w e 
added three hens, 
making six in all. 
On January 1st of 
this year, after 
having kept a 
strict account of 
a 1 1 expenditures 
and income, they 
showed a profit of 
8.40, plus the value 
of eggs consumed, 
of which no account 
was kept. How- 
ever, no eggs were purchased by us 
during the entire year. This year 101 
chickens were hatched from March to May. 
Fifteen were lost through accidents which 
could have been avoided, about the same 
number have been served upon the table, 
leaving us about 60, the largest being only 
four months old. 

Early in the spring, the yard was spaded 
and planted in rape and sun-flower. The 
rape grew quickly and furnished green food 
for them; the sun-flowers have furnished 
good shade, and now each morning a few 
stalks are broken and bent to the ground, 
the leaves and seed of which the chickens 
eagerly devour. Our garden which is 27x50 
feet, supplied more lettuce, radishes, Swiss 
chard and other green stuff than the family 
of two consumed, so a quantity of that has 
also been fed the chickens. The poultry 
houses provide summer and winter quarters. 
In winter, the house boarded on three sides, 

Thirly-EiqU 



and practically open in front on account of 
large window and door, is used, and the wire- 
covered house is closed at the back to knock 
off the direct north wind, and the floor, 
covered with alfalfa hay or straw, into which 
the grain is thrown so the chickens will 
scratch for it, thereby obtaining necessary 
exercise. In summer, the closed house is 
used only for laying purposes, and the chick- 
ens roost in the wire covered house, which 
is naturally cooler. Trap nests are used in 
October and November when the pullets 
start laying. Of course, the experienced 
poultryman knows that there are numerous 
instances of pullets laying at four months, 
but with the average amateur and average 
flock, they are doing well to lay at six and 
seven months. For the benefit of the un- 
initiated will say that trap-nests are nests so 
arranged that one can determine which hens 
are laying and which are not. The non- 
layers are served on the table, while the 
layers are kept and used as breeders. 



food may be raised. A truck garden and 
poultry farm go well together, and when to 
this is added the fruit that may be grown, 
and to top it all, the good market that Bir- 
mingham affords, a most inviting field is 
here presented for thrifty and industrious 
families. Everyone knows that other States 
are constantly supplying our markets with 
poultry and farm products, which would 
not be the case had we more poultrymen and 
gardeners within our own borders. 
Yours very truly, 
CHAS. A. FITZGERALD. 
Birmingham, Ala., Aug. 2, 1910. 



Another 



Successful 
Farmer 



Truck 




POULTRY FARM OF CHAS. A. FITZGERALD 



In this way, one does not make the mis- 
take of killing the laying hen and retaining 
a non-producer. There are a number of 
good trap nests on the market, but if one is 
energetic, practical satisfactory nests may 
be easily made with a piece of wire, a few 
nails, a hammer and some boards. Absolute 
cleanliness of house and yards is, of course, 
preserved. 

All this is attended to in the one or two 
hours before breakfast, and should convince 
the most skeptical that chickens can be 
raised on a large scale when one can give 
his entire time to it and the necessary room 
secured. In this district, where we have 
such mild winters as compared with our 
Northern brother, chicks may be hatched 
so much earlier in the season; in fact, there 
is no reason why they may not be hatched 
satisfactorily every month in the year with 
a minimum of care. The soil is fertile, and 
plant life makes vigorous growth, so sufficient 



A View of Mr. Maddox's Farm will be Found 
On Another Page. 
East Lake, Ala., July 6th, 1910. 

Farm Movement Committee, 

Chamber of Com- 
merce, 
Birmingham, Ala. 
Gentlemen: — 

I have been 
raising vegetables 
on the lands in 
the Birmingham 
District for the 
last sixteen years. 
My experience has 
shown me that al- 
most any kind of ' 
vegetable can be 
profitably grown 
here. I have raised 
every variety, such 
as tomatoes, aspar- 
agus, squash, cab- 
bage, cucumbers, 
beets, lettuce, spin- 
ach, mustard, tur- 
nips, carrots, okra, 
peas, snap-beans, 
egg-plant, peppers, 
onions and pota- 
toes, all of them 
will bring a fair profit n the market. 

For instance, 200 bushels of tomatoes can 
be raised to the acre, which will bring an 
average of $1.00 a bushel. Peas, one of the 
most saleable crops, will average from 75 to 
100 bushels per acre, worth $125.00. Tur- 
nips, another popular and most sought for 
vegetable, make a profit of $150.00 per acre. 
They are very easily grown. Spinach make 
an average profit of $200 per acre. Swe:t and 
Irish potatoes, for which there is always a 
large demand, are a very profitable crop, 
the price paid for them in the Birmingham 
market varying from 75 cents to $1.50 per 
bushel. 

I generally have two crops of Irish pota- 
toes, which average 150 bushels an acre on 
my land. Sweet potatoes yield a somewhat 
larger crop; I have several times made as 
much as 250 bushels of sweet potatoes on 
one acre. 
With one of the best markets in the South 



for all soil products; with our easily cultivated 
lands and the mild climate, I know of no 
superior section in this country for a farmer 
or gardener to settle, than Jefferson County, 
Alabama. We have room here for a thousand 
truck-farmers, dairy and poultry men, all 
of whom, if they are the right kind of men, 
will prosper here within a few years. Of 
course one has to be industrious, understand 
soil culture and persevere. 

With best wishes for the success of your 
undertaking, I am. 

Yours respectfully, 

M. F. MADDOX. 



peach-trees. As you will notice this tree 
is covered with peaches to the breaking point 
and there are many more like it on my place 
out at East Lake. Are the lands around 
here fertile? Do they yield good crops? 
Well, I came over from England 25 years 
ago and was around the country a good bit 
before I settled here. I have lived in Il- 
linois and other Northern States and I have 
never seen lands which equal ours. Why the 
soils in this section are so rich, that some- 
times people contrary to "As thou shalt 
sow, so shalt thou reap" will actually reap 
without sowing. Take my case for instance. 



spring I planted some com and tomatoes and 
a few other vegetables on two acres. But 
the trees are entirely neglected, yet a good 
many of these trees bear fruit year after 
year and in abundance at that, as you will 
notice by the photograph. 

This surely proves the great productive- 
ness of our lands; and with our beautiful 
climate, with plenty of good water and a 
city which soon will be equal in size and im- 
portance to the great iron and coal city of 
the North, Pittsburg, Pa. I do not know of 



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PEACH TREE IN BLOOM ON R. BLACKBURNE'S FARM AND ORCHARD 
IN SUBURB OF BIRMINGHAM 



Reaping Without Sowing 

Norwood, June 24th, 1910. 
Mr. S. Hechinger, Secretary, 
Farm Movement Department, 
Chamber of Commerce, 
Birmingham, Ala. 
Dear Sir: — 

I send you a photograph of one of my 



I have 19 acres out at East Lake with 1,000 
fruit trees upon it. Being in the contract- 
ing business and living in the city I have 
very little time to attend to them. There 
is a fine house on the place and no one to 
live in except that my family stays out 
there occasionally for a few days. Now 
and then I have the weeds cut off and this 



a better section in this country for people 
to move to, especially agricultural people, 
than the Birmingham District. 

Yours respectfully, 

R. BLACKBURNE. 

Thirty- Nine 



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